Here's another example of the awesome beauty of nature butchered by my crappy photography skills.
This morning's sunrise was especially colorful. Unlike most mornings this time of year, we didn't have total cloud cover. So, the sun was actually able to squeeze some of its colorful rays through the crumbling ozone layer... especially for my enjoyment.
Maybe I would have been able to get a better photo if I had taken the time to stop my car, get out of it, and snap the shot. As it was, I wasn't expecting a beautiful sunrise so I didn't leave my house early enough to accommodate the pulling over diversion from my morning commute.
I really do hope that I am able to develop the eyeball camera before I am involved in a car accident.
I can't remember if I took this photo over the weekend or earlier this week. Darned short term memory fails me again. Anyway... it was a beautiful full moon. But, as I expected even as I squeezed the camera's shutter, I just don't have the photography skills necessary to capture the essence of the view.
This does remind me that I need to put out some feelers in the scientific community to see if I can find someone who can help me develop my eyeball camera idea.
You know how you can see something, and wish you could capture it, but as with me and the full moon, you know that a photo just wouldn't do it justice.
Well, imagine there was a camera inserted into your brain and just by blinking your eyes while making a clicking sound with your mouth, you could capture the image you were focused on as you blinked. Then, you could download the image from your brain to your computer (or even to a kiosk at your nearby one-hour photo lab). And, the resulting print would be a perfect reproduction of the original object of your focus.
Beyond the ability to perfectly reproduce anything you lay your eyes on, this would have the added benefit of allowing you to take photos when whipping out your camera isn't convenient or safe (like when driving down the highway at 65mph).
I'm not really bothered by the thought of having a camera inserted into my brain because I saw my dog get a microchip inserted into his neck and it didn't bother him a bit. So, I'm sure after the initial pinprick of the insertion device, I wouldn't even notice the camera inside my head.
Let me know if you know any scientists you think would be interested in helping me out with this. It would be great if I could get it ready in time for Christmas.
We first came across the Tron Guy this summer after friends from southern Indiana sent us a link to his website.
He looks disturbingly like hubby Bruce. Not really... but his glasses and mustache are quite similar to Bruce's.
This weekend we came across a video in support of Net Neutrality that features, among other Internet celebrities, the Tron Guy. If you watch the video with your eyes closed, you'd probably think the featured singer was quite talented. But, something about the visual negates the quality of her voice.
Enjoy the video. And, I hope the song doesn't get stuck in your head. I'm about ready for a lobotomy to try to remove it from mine. Tron Guy appears about a minute into it.
Nature is a bit confused right now. There are still leaves on the trees because our first cold snap came quite late this year.
But, today we have about an inch of snow on the ground, and the branches.
We've dragged all of the Christmas decorations down out of the attic. Today would have been a good day to put up the outside lights, but we're holding out, hoping that tomorrow will be a bit warmer.
I guess I should feel sorry for mom-in-law Judy as she seeks refuge from the bright sunshine of south Florida while we're enjoying the first snowflakes of the season here in Elkhart, Indiana.
It's the time of the year for wearing buffet-eating pants. You know, the kind of pants with a stretchy waist band that expands to accommodate an extra serving of mashed potatoes and gravy and pumpkin pie with whipped topping.
Today was my second Thanksgiving dinner of the season and next Thursday will be my third.
This one was especially enjoyable because we were Grandma Meyer's special guests at the Institution. The cooks were up all night preparing six 20-pound turkeys and all of the trimmings for the residents and their loved ones. We were pretty amazed that the staff took care to match the flowers on each table to the residents' outfits. Wow... that's attention to detail. There are many things to be thankful for this time of year, including the view out the cafeteria window. What a beautiful display of fall colors. After dinner we were treated to a private piano recital. We are most thankful that we are able to celebrate the holidays with Grandma.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Climbing up on the roof to blow out the leaves from the gutter is one of the last chores of the fall.
It seems like the leaves are very reluctant to let go of the branches this year... many are still clinging to life.
Our burning bushes are the last in the neighborhood to turn red. It appears that someone took a swipe at one of the bushes with a chain saw.
The chimney sweep came out earlier today to scrape the creosote out of our fireplace. Now we just need to put away the lawn furniture and stack the firewood on the patio. Then, we'll be ready to settle in for a long winter's nap.
Driving home from work today I heard a story on the radio about a man in western Indiana who won over $50 million on the Hoosier lottery. Wow... how cool would that be! He is a retired steel worker who plans to put the money to use helping his church and his family. I hope the man has a trusted financial adviser. How sad it would be for him and his family to get overwhelmed by sudden wealth and end up like the Florida lottery winner who turned to drugs and ended up living in a rental storage unit.
Then I got to thinking that I should buy a lottery ticket. Surely I would be able to make good decisions and do good things with the money. So, I drove over to the nearby convenience store to buy a couple of chances in tonight's drawing.
As I pulled into the parking lot I noticed the scaffolding was gone from around the tree at the business behind the convenience store. And, the custom-carved totem pole is now complete. I walked over and saw a man packing the scaffolding in his truck. He was the artist, Doug, out of Wakarusa. He doesn't carve for a living, but it's his passion.
The finished totem pole is a very unique sign for the business Boulderman. So, the next time you need a custom-carved totem pole, stop by Boulderman on Ash Road on the county line between Osceola and Elkhart and ask them how to get in touch with the artist.
While driving down Ash Road, the dividing line between St. Joseph and Elkhart counties, I saw a scaffolding around a tree.
I turned my car around to get a closer look. The homeowner has stripped off all of the limbs from a 50' tall tree and now they're turning the remaining trunk into a totem pole.
I haven't seen Orange Cat around for several weeks. I'm guessing he used up the last of his 9 lives. Orange Cat lived in the culvert under our neighbor's driveway. When that house sold a couple of years ago, the former owner asked the new owners to continue feeding Orange Cat, which they did.
Now it appears we have a new neighborhood cat. This one is mostly black, with a bit of white on his chest and paws.
This morning I saw him sitting under our bird feeder. I guess he's waiting for a snack.
Former neighbors Paul and Judy were over today raking up the leaves so their yard looks nice for potential buyers.
We joined in on the fun, pulling our yard vacuum behind the tractor and then dumping the leaves on their burn pile.
Now this was just our first weekend of raking leaves and we ended up with a pile about 4' high and 10' long. There are still plenty of leaves on our trees so I'm guessing we'll have a few more days of leaf cleanup before the snow flies.
Here's another example of the awesome beauty of nature butchered by my crappy photography skills.
